Concerts, gigs, special exhibitions, fireworks, late opening and free entrance to museums: Italy celebrates its 150th unification anniversary all through 2011. On the 17th of March the Italian green, white and red flag has been fluttering all over the country and among the Italian communities in the UK as well as in the rest of the world. The national public holiday was introduced by the government to recall the day when, in 1861, after almost 50 years of political and revolutionary struggles, Turin was proclaimed capital of the country being followed by Florence (1867) and Rome (1870). Celebrations took place not only in the three most historical capitals but also in many other Italian cities.

In Italy, the names of Garibaldi and Mazzini appear everywhere these days, from newspapers to TV shows. We all know what these two men meant for the Risorgimento and we are all grateful for their incredible effort to bring Italians together and make one country out of many. But there are other patriots who gave an important contribution to the creation of the Italia unita. Few know about them, but their story is worth telling nonetheless.
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the cration of the Kingdom of Italy, but it also marks the 130th anniversary of the death of patriot Giovanni Ruffini, a writer whose book, Doctor Antonio, published in Edinburgh in 1855, helped to secure the support of Britain to the idea of Italy as a unified nation.

Mention small hilltop towns, local cafés and ice-cream parlours, and you might be forgiven for thinking of the undulating expanses of Tuscany, rather than the erstwhile mining settlements of the South Wales valleys. Nevertheless, caffè and gelato have been a staple of daily life in the likes of Aberdare, Pontypridd and Treorchy for over a century.

With more than 40,000 Italians of first, second and third generations, Wales has got one of the largest Italian community in the UK.
Today it is almost impossible not to spot an Italian café in the valleys of South Wales or in the cold North Wales; they are called the Bracchis after one of the first family who came from the North of Italy searching for jobs and new opportunities.
The Bracchi came from Bardi, a little town in the mountains of North West Italy.

Bedford’s Italian community represents the largest concentration of Italian families in the UK: 14,000 people from a total population of around 100,000. According to a 2001 census almost 30% of the town’s population are of at least partial Italian descent.
The community is extremely lively and every year celebrates its Italian origin with the “Italian Festival”, a colourful not to be missed event for all the Anglo-Italians.

St Peter's Italian Club celebrated it's golden jubilee on Saturday, 22 January 2011, with a dinner attended by 600 members and former members, at the Royal National hotel in Russell Square. It has been 50 years since Vic Heissl and a group of Italians and Anglo-Italians, converted church rooms and assembled a youth club where Italians and friends of Italians could meet as a community.